Wash. farmer accused of bank robberies due in court

The arraignment of a Washington state farmer accused of being a bank robber has been delayed in federal court.

The Peninsula Daily News reports that the arraignment of 40-year-old Michael John Fenter of Port Townsend was delayed for a week because his court-appointed attorney withdrew from the case. Fenter is charged with bank robbery.

Fenter was arrested on Oct. 8 after the robbery of a bank branch in Tacoma and was booked as John Doe when he refused to identify himself. The FBI later identified him as Fenter, who is a boat builder and farmer on the Olympic Peninsula and lives there with his wife and three children.

The FBI says he is being investigated in connection with other bank robberies this year in San Francisco, Sacramento and Seattle. He had no prior criminal history.

When Fenter was arrested he was armed with a gun and an explosive device.

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Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com